Sustainability in the Region
6th November 2019 at New Church House, Ormskirk
It was good to see so many local organisations and people come together with Edge Hill University staff and students at the ‘Sustainability in the Region’ knowledge exchange event held on 6th November 2019 at New Church House in Ormskirk and sponsored by the Institute for Social Responsibility.
The idea of the event is to bring together sustainability-related organisations from the local and wider Northwest region to meet with each other and also with Edge Hill University staff and students with mutual interests in how we can help advance the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Around 20 organisations were able to display and demonstrate their sustainability-related work with around 100 people who attended the event. There was also a programme of eight short stimulating presentations, as well as the chance to participate in behavioural research on sustainable thinking and practice.
New links and connections between people were formed, mutual learning on sustainability was experienced, and there was strong feedback for us to continue this good work.
Below is the list of organisations displaying their sustainability related work at the event with their weblinks also provided.
The Short Presentations programme chaired by SustainNET leader Prof Christopher Dent comprised a varied series of talks on sustainability:
- Prof John Sandars (Medical School) – ‘Developing Sustainable Communities for Sustainable Improvement in Health’
- Mr Stephen Sykes (Chamber Low Carbon / 2030 Hub) – ‘The 2030 Hub’
- Dr Alison Clark and Ms Brigette Wafer (Liverpool World Centre) – ‘Liverpool World Centre’
- Mr William Matthew (Northwest Ecological Trust) – ‘Habitats are Homes’
- Mr Colin Southern (Bike Works) – ‘The World’s Greatest Enabler and why giving ‘FREE’ stuff away is a really bad idea!’
- Prof Geoff Beattie (Psychology) – ‘How to Avery a Climate Catastrophe’
- Cllr Adrian Owens (Our West Lancashire) – ‘Community Leadership for Sustainability – how the Borough Council can be a force for positive change’
- Prof Paul Aplin (Geography) – ‘Where’s the Swamp Gone for Peat’s Sake? Palm Oil Sustainability in Malaysia’s Tropical Forest’
Prof Geoff Beattie and Dr Laura McGuire also gave event participants the opportunity to assess their unconscious attitudes to climate change in the ‘sustainability psychological test booth’ as part of their research on the psychology of climate action.
You can listen to a series of short podcast recordings on sustainability work being conducted at Edge Hill that were made shortly after the November 2019 Sustainability in the Region event:
- Christopher Dent (Business School) – Sustainable business, energy and trade
- Geoff Beattie (Psychology) – Implicit attitudes to sustainability and climate change
- John Sandars (Medical School / Health) – The links between good health and sustainability in the local region
- Paul Aplin (Geography) – Tracking environmental and climate change, with a focus on forests and peatlands
- Pam Brandwood (Facilities Management) – Sustainability: inter-linked issues and challenges
- Louise Hawxwell, Martin Ford, Becky Cleave (Education) – Teaching on and learning about the Sustainable Development Goals